About to have laparscopic rectopexy and possibly a bowel resection (remove sigmoid portion) due to rectal prolapse and constipation.
Please let know if you has this and if it all went well and constipation ends?
Even if its just rectopexy - I want to know from others who have gone thru this.

Hello Alycat and everyone: I am new to this site and have a full thickness rectal prolapse as well. I don't have a surgery date yet but I am fairly certain that I will be having the same surgery as Alycat and would appreciate hearing about others experiences as well, especially five or six years down the road. Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alykat

About to have laparscopic rectopexy and possibly a bowel resection (remove sigmoid portion) due to rectal prolapse and constipation.
Please let know if you has this and if it all went well and constipation ends?
Even if its just rectopexy - I want to know from others who have gone thru this.

Fromashesrising- hi, I'm over 10 weeks out now from rectopexy and resection.
I have a friend who is in her 60s and due to health problems she went with the less invasive surgery and just got rectopexy, no resection. Her constipation got worse this route and now takes senna tablets everyday. I'm glad I got the resection too, it's suppose to help down the road for easier BMs. Now 10 weeks out it has not helped me yet. I have yet to have 1 complete BM or it in the right form. Reading on this board most people seem to be back to some normal by 6 weeks. I had some muscle/nerve damage that may be behind my struggles. I also was told in post op check up i have scar tissue around the resection that may be already making this difficult. I literally have to push into my resection area while deep inhaling to move stools out and they are tiny soft stools. I start physical therapy next week to see if they can stimulate my muscle out of being paralyzed or tightning up in the wrong spots.
Really everyone's outcomes are different. Make sure your surgeon does a lot of these and maybe talk to a former patient she did the operation on.

Another thing- you may have emotional swings. I have had good days and days I cried a lot. This is normal apparently. Also even though they tell you eat what ever you want when home, I learned they were wrong. Eat the constipationg diet of bland no fiber foods and take the mirlax or mag citrate to soften stools. I have resorted to senna tea a couple of time. I was determined to eat my fruit and veggies and I really did not work in my guts favor. Even 10 weeks out I'm considering bland foods, not bc pain but the gas fruits and veggie cause is horrific and smells, while before my gas never smelled bc I was regular.
I worked out daily before surgery so at week 2 I started walking up to 40 minutes at a time. Week 3 I started slow with the recumbent bike. Week 4 I slowly increase my intensity. I always did only what my body felt good with. I got my docs okay with all my activities in that time frame.

How long have you had the prolapse?
Does it come out fully during a BM?
The longer you have it the longer it takes the bowels to learn how to move stools with its noew design . I had mine for 6-7 yrs, I wasn't sure what it was until a month before surgery- docs told me it was hemmoroids prolapsing all those yrs so you can imagine how much it continued to fall all those yrs.

Hope this helps you.
I would do the surgery again but I would have stuck more to the awful bland diet longer, had lower expeditions of bowels working like they once did. When I saw my surgeon last week I was crying bc this is far from what I thought it would be 10 weeks out and she said - your bowels will never be the same and it may take 6 months to see any normal pattern. They relly mean you will have a new normal. For those ho were constipated before surgery this may be a good thing, but r those that were having next to full BMs before, after suger you ma ave little ones several times. At least in he beginning. I'm praying each week it gets its function back.

The following user gives a hug of support to Alykat:
louisev (09-19-2013)

Hi Alykat,
Man I am scared. I've had the prolapse for six years too. For 4.5 years it was misdiagnosed as hemmoroids. Mind you, the GI specialists and primary care docs never even physically looked at me! They were convinced someone my age would never have this. I am 30 now. The next 1.5 years I switched insurance, finally took a picture (the only way anyone would believe me and even then I was asked if I got the pic off the internet...how insulting!!!) I then have spent over six months dealing with the slow Kaiser system and still am getting second and third opinions because the surgeon I was referred to doesn't do laperoscopic. I just refuse to do open abdominal surgery in the 21st century...it's not necessary and it's my body. This new normal stuff really pisses me off...sorry I am just being honest. I still go back and forth between whether waiting several more years and doing natural treatments would at least be worth trying. However I have a full thickness prolapse-- 3 inches and 2 around--and am totally blind and feel it is a liability. I've been grieving the body I will never have again and wish I never had to give up.

Glad to know you can exercise though! That was one of my concerns. I am also terrified of restricted diets as I tried a bunch of them to no avail except grumbling and frustration from my family that I was different and difficult, so it stresses me out that I might not be able to eat what I want. Anyone else find at some point they could go back to a semblance of normalcy? As I currently am not in pain I sometimes wonder if it is worth doing the surgery and being perhaps even less functional than before.

I have a rectocele on top of the rectal prolapse and refuse to do rectocele surgery (it is dangerous and statistically people end up much much worse off than before.) I am wondering if good posture and exercise ever reversed a full thickness prolapse? Am I just engaging in wishful thinking?

Still can't believe this is happening to me... kind of feels like a nightmare or very bad movie.

Need to know I can be empowered in my choices and I will be okay!
Thanks.

I have a non relaxing sphincter and no urge to have a bm gut is really bloated and use senna tea but when I go I still feel bloated how do I get an urge back my whole pelvic region is numb and burning. Thank you

I have a non relaxing sphincter and no urge to have a bm gut is really bloated and use senna tea but when I go I still feel bloated how do I get an urge back my whole pelvic region is numb and burning. Thank you

I feel for you, I'm some what in your shoes after the surgery. I do know using purging laxatives (senna, cascara sengrada) will cause this in the long run. First you must stop using those from of laxatives. Rather use high doses of vit c on empty tummy first thing in the morning followed by a liter if warm water. Also try olon hydrotherapy, I did after long use with cascara and it was the most effective therapy I used. Also ask your colon rectal doc to refer you to pelvic floor specialist physical therapy. They will be using a tens machine on me, most PTs will not thats why find a specialist.

I feel for you, I'm some what in your shoes after the surgery. I do know using purging laxatives (senna, cascara sengrada) will cause this in the long run. First you must stop using those from of laxatives. Rather use high doses of vit c on empty tummy first thing in the morning followed by a liter if warm water. Also try olon hydrotherapy, I did after long use with cascara and it was the most effective therapy I used. Also ask your colon rectal doc to refer you to pelvic floor specialist physical therapy. They will be using a tens machine on me, most PTs will not thats why find a specialist.

Been through biofeedback and things got worse the anal Stimulator they used made me tighten instead of relax and and I had hernia surgery and the doc cut 2 nerves . Now no urge just a movement all at once and my sphincter then locks up. I can't pass liquid like enimas or bowel prep with miralax. Don't know what else can be done.

Hi Alykat,
Man I am scared. I've had the prolapse for six years too. For 4.5 years it was misdiagnosed as hemmoroids. Mind you, the GI specialists and primary care docs never even physically looked at me! They were convinced someone my age would never have this. I am 30 now. The next 1.5 years I switched insurance, finally took a picture (the only way anyone would believe me and even then I was asked if I got the pic off the internet...how insulting!!!) I then have spent over six months dealing with the slow Kaiser system and still am getting second and third opinions because the surgeon I was referred to doesn't do laperoscopic. I just refuse to do open abdominal surgery in the 21st century...it's not necessary and it's my body. This new normal stuff really pisses me off...sorry I am just being honest. I still go back and forth between whether waiting several more years and doing natural treatments would at least be worth trying. However I have a full thickness prolapse-- 3
inches and 2 around--and am totally blind and feel it is a liability. I've been grieving the body I will never have again and wish I never had to give up.

Glad to know you can exercise though! That was one of my concerns. I am also terrified of restricted diets as I tried a bunch of them to no avail and got a lot of grumbling and frustration from my family that I was different and difficult, so it stresses me out that I might not be able to eat what I want. Anyone else find at some point they could go back to a semblance of normalcy? How I long to be normal. . .

Rectocele and other vaginal prolapse surgeries are dangerous and statistically people end up much much worse off than before.) I also know that many people who do the rectal prolapse surgeries end up worse off than before. Is it wishful thinking to imagine I can treat this condition with holistic noninvasive treatment: have other people found a way to avoid tearing up their intestines and retained satisfactory functionality?

To Alykat and others who had this surgery: I hear that you are in pain, don't have regular bms, are miserable, and your life seems to still revolve around the toilet. Completely objectively speaking, what is the reason to prefer these problems and the surgery over the condition you were in beforehand? I am asking this question because I have a full prolapse but currently do not experience any pain. From this point of current no pain, it feels like a crap shoot (no pun intended) to opt for correct anatomy and impaired functionality and pain where there once was none. Why is it worth it? Is it that the rectal prolapse will just get worse and cause pain eventually so we are giving our future selves a break by dealing with it now? Thanks for your honesty.

Still can't believe this is happening to me... kind of feels like a nightmare or very bad movie.

Need to know I can be empowered in my choices and I will be okay!
Thanks.

I will follow up with you tomorrow when I have time to type. But mine started around age 30 -31 and I'm 37 now.
Yes yes yes it gets worse and suddenly!
I had no "pain" ever but one day I started bleeding bad. Spraying blood everywhere when the prolapse would come out (the only way I had a ZbM was to let the prolapse to come out ). For a month I was too fearful to go #2 but went just a little each day bc the blood would spray everywhere, lost a lot of blood, ended up in emergency room ect....

The surgery is worth it! Get the resection too. I'm all natural always, wouldn't even take Tylenol type of girl, raw goid diet, no processed foods etc....
I took herbs, did physical therapy, prayed, certain exercises etc... But when the bleeding looked like a murder scene I couldn't get In to surgery for a month. The rate of reoccurrence is 10-15%. Healing takes time and if I have to use miralax forever so be it, at least I don't spend hours at a time in the bathroom.
You can choose to let your life revolve around BMs or not. Before surgery I did. It robbed me of so much :-(
Now I'm slowly letting go of that. This surgery makes it easier to let go.
My surgeon told me to see a shrink if I get to wrapped up in getting my old normal back, even gave me a prescription for zoloft!

The Following User Says Thank You to Alykat For This Useful Post:
FromAshesRising (07-14-2013)

I will follow up with you tomorrow when I have time to type. But mine started around age 30 -31 and I'm 37 now.
Yes yes yes it gets worse and suddenly!
I had no "pain" ever but one day I started bleeding bad. Spraying blood everywhere when the prolapse would come out (the only way I had a ZbM was to let the prolapse to come out ). For a month I was too fearful to go #2 but went just a little each day bc the blood would spray everywhere, lost a lot of blood, ended up in emergency room ect....

The surgery is worth it! Get the resection too. I'm all natural always, wouldn't even take Tylenol type of girl, raw goid diet, no processed foods etc....
I took herbs, did physical therapy, prayed, certain exercises etc... But when the bleeding looked like a murder scene I couldn't get In to surgery for a month. The rate of reoccurrence is 10-15%. Healing takes time and if I have to use miralax forever so be it, at least I don't spend hours at a time in the bathroom.
You can choose to let your life revolve around BMs or not. Before surgery I did. It robbed me of so much :-(
Now I'm slowly letting go of that. This surgery makes it easier to let go.
My surgeon told me to see a shrink if I get to wrapped up in getting my old normal back, even gave me a prescription for zoloft!

Thank you so much for your reply Alykat. My mom's friend has a daughter who did the surgery after suddenly going from no pain to intense pain and the prolapse would come out just while she sneezed or moved too much. So the stories like hers and yours plus worrying that I could get infections and lesions if it goes untreated is leaning me more and more to the option of surgery.

I really look forward to reading any more you can share tomorrow.

Also, I am wondering if you or anyone else here was told whether you could have children? Are we only able to do C-sections after the prolapse surgery? Also this doesn't effect our ability to be physically intimate with a partner, right? I can't see why it would except that the two regions are right next door to one another. Actually since the prolapse makes me feel extremely undesirable I am thinking the surgery might make it more possible to feel you can be a part of a relationship. This condition is so taboo, while everyone understands recovery from surgery. I'm glad I am dealing with this issue while I am still single: I can't imagine trying to date while going through this (though I'm sure people who are already in healthy relationships can work through it just fine.) I often just get so down on myself and wonder why anyone would want a woman with my problems when there are normal ones out there who don't come with the baggage. That's why it's so painful to know I won't ever be normal again. .

How do people who have had this surgery feel about your bodies? Can you recognize/relate to the person with the physical characteristics you have post surgery? I am finding that this is hard to do right now and wonder if the surgery makes you feel better emotionally about yourself-- like you are more whole afterward, or proud that you survived something? Is it easier to deal with day to day life after you recover from the surgery as opposed to before the surgery? I spend about 40 minutes in the bathroom during a good bm and 1.5 to sometimes 3 hours in the bathroom during flairups I have IBS and it's hard to know if it was caused by the prolapse (it occured after I got the prolapse) or is a separate problem, but I'm in the bathroom for a large part of the day.

I hope I don't have too many questions. I just have been looking for months for other people to talk to who have gone through the surgery or even have the same problem as I do and finally found you all here. I so appreciate all the support!

Good news that the answers to these questions, from my own experiance, are positive.

I devolved the prolapse after my last baby at age 30 I had her. I think the loner time you spend in the bathroom putting pressure on prolapse the more it falls and stretches. I did end up spending an hour in there for years then I saw how bad it was getting and purposely spent less time regardless of the need to stay to fully evacuate.
My surgeon said pregnancy is fine, but c section is obviously the wiser choice.

I'm married for 11 yrs now and he's been fully supportive of me finding out what was wrong and now getting thru the recovery physical and emotional.
I have never ever talked to anyone who has gone thru this surgery and regretted t. Hrs what gave me peace. There really is no choice in getting it. Sorry but true. When its gets this bad your only option s to get it fixed. Keep in mind who's saying this, I tried to fix it on my own all these years with natural docs help.

The best thing you can do is find a surgeon who is very good and routinely does these. Ask to talk to previous patients who went thru same surgery. I did and met a girl who did at age 35 and is so happy now.

How I feel about my body really never deals with this aspect. Weird I guess but its something inside me so I really notice the outer parts more.

Sex is the same. No pain etc....

Really the only thing that changes is your butt stops falling out, you purposely spend less time in the wash room, you've got 3 weeks post op that are the most challenging as far as energy but every single day I felt a little better. The hardest work is getting over the obsession with good bowels. I thought it would be perfect once healed from surgery but I'm still having to tweak my diet and supplements.
I'm actually less strict with my diet bc my diet that helped before, raw food 100%, doesn't do anything now. So some nights I eat rice, or steamed butternut squash, sushi, ect..... It's freeing but stressful bc BMs are I don't even know the word to describe.

Yet I say surgery s 100% worth it. It just takes time to get bowels back in shape.